AFF Tries New Date Venues Thompson Speaks

Vol. 3, No. 2 March 2007
By Pamela Cole
In November 2006, Bill Thompson was named Division
Director of the Georgia Film, Video & Music Division.
Thompson replaced Greg Torre, a mainstay in the Georgia
Film office for many years. Recently, I interviewed Thompson
at his office.
What is your background?
My background was in the commercial film and television
world for several decades. For me this feels very comfortable,
it’s very familiar territory. I’ve always worked in
Georgia. I’ve been a producer, a director of my own projects
that have aired on television, and I was a DP for a
number of years. Then I went into management at Crawford,
and had a good time there with the advent of high
definition and all the work we did during the Olympics.
What exactly does the Georgia Film, Video & Music office
do?
Our mission is to promote, support, and develop the
entertainment industry in Georgia.
We identify leads about projects, we cold call, we follow
up with former clients. We do a lot of different things
to achieve that mission. We advertise and market the state
and its resources at events in and outside the state.
We have our hands in a lot of organizations locally
like IMAGE, the Atlanta Film Festival, and the Georgia
Games Developer Association. A large part of our mission
is to nourish and nurture those groups. We also go outside
the state to trade shows and film festivals, and at those
INSIDE:
Spotlight: Nov. 28th ......... 4
Where the Shorts Are ...... 6
Spotlight: Getting into
College: The Movie .... 9
The Great Mazursky ...... 10
Actors Fund ...................11
Distribution: 5 Secrets
and Lies ..................... 14
DEPARTMENTS:
Editorial ........................... 2
Out There in Pictures ....... 3
In Production ................ 15
Classifieds ..................... 16
events we market ourselves, the state of Georgia, and our services. For
example, we’ll go to the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin,
Texas in March. There is a Locations Expo in April in Santa Monica,
and we’ll have a booth there. The Association of County Commissioners
of Georgia is having a trade show in Savannah—we’ll be
there. Part of our mission is to reach out to all 159 counties, have contact
in those counties, and be fully aware of all the resources that they
have, specifically any unique locations.
See Thompson on Page 12
AFF Tries New Date, Venues
By Shannon Jenkins
Organizers of the 31st Atlanta Film
Festival are shaking things up this year
in an ambitious effort to boost the event’s
profile.
Dates have been bumped up from
summer to spring. Multiple locations of
the past have been trimmed to one venue.
And two new leaders have taken the
reigns of one of the oldest film festivals
in the country.
Moving from the sweltering heat of
June to the cooler weather of April is a
date change planners hope will benefit the
festival. Scheduling it for April 19-28 has
several advantages, says Gabe Wardell,
who joined IMAGE Film & Video as executive
director in September 2006.
Thompson
Speaks
A Conversation
with Georgia’s New
Director of Film,
Video & Music
In spring, college
students are
still in town, and
Wardell attributes
them with always
attending cuttingedge
works and animation
programs.
And although college
students make
Gabe Wardell up an important
segment of the festival’s
audience, Wardell claims its bread
and butter art house patrons are more
likely to have a child in school, rather
than be in school themselves. With the
switch to spring, family vacations will
less likely interfere with the festival.
See AFF on Page 8

Editorial Opinion
This editorial isn’t about the film and video industry,
or even about Southern Screen Report. Just before I
started laying out this edition, the most tedious task of
production, my father died. It wasn’t unexpected; he was 89 and
had been at Piedmont Hospital for 21 days. And it wasn’t unusual;
everyone’s father dies eventually. But it sure stopped my
presses. So, please forgive me if there are a few extra typos and
tearstains in this issue.
Clyde Cole was born in Ellijay, Georgia in 1918. At 16, he
joined the U.S. Army instead of becoming a moonshiner, he said.
(Those Gilmer County apples, which he so loved, were good for
lots of things. They’re not called “winesap” for nothing!)
During WWII, he was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines
and spent
I couldn’t bring myself to
watch Letters from Iwo Jima,
Clint Eastwood’s best picture-nominated
film, because
of its sympathetic portrayal
of Japanese soldiers. I don’t
have anything against the
Japanese, but my dad sure did.
1,358 days as a
POW. He survived
the Death March
of Bataan and was
shipped to Japan to
work as a slave in
the coal mines. He
witnessed the dropping
of the second
atomic bomb on Nagasaki,
just 35 miles
from where he was
imprisoned. It was raining that day, he said. A light, misting rain.
(Interestingly, I couldn’t bring myself to watch Letters from
Iwo Jima, Clint Eastwood’s best picture-nominated film, because
of its sympathetic portrayal of Japanese soldiers. I don’t have
anything against the Japanese, but my dad sure did. Watching the
film would have felt like a betrayal.)
In later years, my dad spoke about being a POW more often,
and I wrote a screenplay based on his experiences. It won a minor
award in a major screenplay competition, but it’s probably unproducible,
because no actor would ever undergo the transformation
needed to portray what my father endured. But at least it’s written
down, to be remembered.
He was a simple man with little education, but he was a voracious
reader and could often be found slumped in his recliner
with a good book. Westerns were his favorite; he read every
Louis L’Amour novel. I found his library card in his wallet after
he died; it was still current.
He also loved fishing, Braves baseball, me, and life—to the
very last breath, he didn’t want to go.
Thanks for letting me get that out.
Pamela Cole, Editor
on-camera acting classes
Film
FESTival!
Thursday, May 24
Saturday, May 26
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
Be a
part
of it!
Southern Screen Report
Editor-in-Chief, Pamela Cole, editor@screenreport.com
Associate Editor, Ruksana Hussain, ruksana@screenreport.com
Senior Advertising Executive, Melissa Randle,
melissa@screenreport.com
Marketing & Advertising, Paula Martinez
paula@screenreport.com
Festival
Highlights
Fine Arts Exhibition
Opening • May 22, 5-7 pm
ArtWalk • May 25, 5-10 pm
Artists Market • May 26-27
bandstand
PeRformers
Saturday, May 26
Noon • The Dappled Greys
1 pm • Doria Roberts
2 pm • Nicole Chillemi
3 pm • Kristin Markiton
4 pm • Geoff Achison
Sunday, May 27
11:30 am • Conundrum
Noon • Kemba Cofield
1 pm • KUKU
2 pm • Morgan Rowe
3 pm • Bonaventure Quartet
4 pm • Delta Moon
WWW.DECATURARTSALLIANCE.ORG • 404-371-9583
Classifieds: classifieds@screenreport.com
News: news@screenreport.com
Production Listings: listings@screenreport.com
Published by Front Runner Communications, Inc.
Atlanta, GA 30324, 404-806-7044
Editorial Policy: Southern Screen Report covers news, reviews, and
production listings of the film and video industry in the Southeastern
United States. The views represented here do not necessarily represent
the views of the publisher.
t h e f o c u s i s o n y o u.
www.youract.tv
Issue 3, No. 2 © 2007 Front Runner Communications, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise—without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Page 2 March 2007 www.screenreport.com

Out There in Pictures
Director Logan Smalley accepts the Spirit of the
Hoka award for Best Documentary (Darius Goes
West: The Roll of His Life) from Awards
Ceremony hosts Beth Ann Fennelly and Ron Shapiro
at the Oxford Film Festival (Photo by Steven Hopper)
Campus MovieFest creator
David Roemer & talkshow
host Carson Daly at Campus
MovieFest (Photo by Melissa
Randle)
Producer Reuben Cannon & Co-Producer/First
AD Roger Bobb at the Atlanta premiere of
Daddy’s Little Girls (Photo by Sean Anthony)
Veronica
Sheehan,
TBS Senior
Vice President
Network
Operations,
at the WIFTA
Annual Kickoff
Celebration
WIFTA PSA Campaign Directors/Producers
(L-R) Melanie Bugg, April Nelson, Widdi
Turner, Kathleen Kelly and
Erica Crabb-Moon (Photo by Biar Orrell)
www.screenreport.com March 2007 Page 3

In the Spotlight
November 28th
Film Lays Bare a Day of Tragedy
By Robert Jeffrey II
All too often, we take life for granted.
We go through the daily rigors of life complaining
about how difficult living is. For
Atlanta-based filmmaker, Anthony Nixon,
a family tragedy has made life a precious
commodity—a resource to be valued and
treasured above all else.
Following a long tradition of translating
personal tragedy to the screen, Nixon
is directing his first feature film, entitled
November 28th. In the screenplay written
by Nixon, a story of hope horrendously
averted begins with the introduction of his
cousins, Naomi Nixon, 53, and Latoya Williams,
24. In 2003, Naomi, seeking to provide
her children with a life free from the
dangers of urban life in New Jersey, moved
to the tiny hamlet of Jamestown, South
Carolina. Naomi and her children moved in
with her mother, Sylvia Nixon, where Sylvia’s
granddaughter, Latoya Nixon, and her
two sons also lived.
Soon, Latoya was able to move into
her own apartment.
Her move was scheduled
for November
28th, 2003, the day
after Thanksgiving.
On that morning,
Latoya and Naomi’s
Anthony Nixon
15-year-old daughter
Melissa walked to
the home of Naomi’s
son, Lorenzo Taylor,
19, to borrow his
truck for the move.
There, they were
suddenly and senselessly
killed by a police
officer who fired a 12-gauge shotgun at
Lorenzo, a high school dropout and known
drug dealer.
Anthony and his family were among
the first to arrive on the scene, after hearing
the gunshot.
“I was visiting my family for Thanksgiving
in South Carolina, and on that day
we heard the gunshot go off. We thought
that somebody was just drunk and shooting
into the air or whatever,” Nixon said. “But
my brother grabbed me and we ran over
there just to see what was going on and we
did not expect to see three of our cousins
lying on the ground like that. With me seeing
that…it’s such a helpless feeling.”
The police officer claimed that Lorenzo
had waved a gun at him, but that weapon was
never found. The officer was convicted on
charges of involuntary manslaughter, and is
currently serving 18 months in prison.
“With the person responsible only serving
18 months in prison, we feel strongly
that the girls died for nothing, and I want
the world to know who they were,” said
Nixon, explaining why he felt this story
needed to be told. “I first tried to come up
with this film, or write the story about it just
a year after the
shooting happened.
But, no
one in my family
thought it was a
good idea at the
time because the
wounds were
just so fresh. Everybody
was still
hurting badly
from what had
happened.”
As time progressed
and the
pain of the tragedy
healed somewhat, the family gave Nixon
their blessing to make the film. But the freshman
director found writing the story of that
tragic day to be an uphill battle.
“There were many nights when I was at
my computer writing the script and sometimes
my fingers wouldn’t even type, especially
when I got to the shooting area,
because I saw it. You know, when you see
human life just taken away like that, it’s
such a helpless feeling that you can do nothing.
That was very difficult to get past, but I
summoned the strength to get it done.”
“Get it done” has been his mantra ever
since. Aiming for a November 28, 2007 release
in commemoration of the shooting,
Page 4 March 2007 www.screenreport.com
Nixon has begun pre-production. “We’re
going to start shooting around April or May.
I’m actually going to shoot some of the film
in Jamestown, South Carolina. Most of it’s
going to be shot here in Georgia. We’re scouting
locations right now,” said Nixon.
Even with a solid script in hand, a dedicated
film crew, and a staunch desire to tell
the story of his slain cousins, there have
been roadblocks for the first time director.
“I think all filmmakers can agree when
I say that the biggest roadblock is getting
investors to take a look at what you have,”
said Nixon.
“Before you have any checks handed
to you, you’re going to be taken through
so many questions, you have to provide so
many documents. It’s just hard to make investors
feel comfortable enough, to understand
that they’re going to make a return on
their investment.”
In the face of such adversity, Nixon said
that the resonance of his story is what ultimately
sells potential investors. “Once I
make people aware of all the facts of this
story and they really know what’s going on
—once they get past that hurdle or fear, everything
else falls into place slowly.”
With a goal of having November 28th
released to 3,000 theaters across the country
on November 28, Nixon states that ultimately
he wants audiences to take just
one thing from the film: “The biggest thing
that I want the audience to take from this,
is that life is short. My cousin Latoya left
her sons just to walk down the street and
ask my cousin for his truck to help with the
move that morning. And my fifteen-yearold
cousin was braiding my grandmother’s
hair, and she just wanted to help my other
cousin move.”
“And they were gone—just like that. So
I want people to understand that life is
short.Ӥ

Creative Editing
Editing Corner
By Craig Tollis
Editing is almost always a collaborative
craft, either by choice or by necessity. On
a short with a comfortable deadline, the director
might also choose to edit, but more
typically he or she will be concentrating on
something else. Editors, particularly good
ones, usually expect a level of creative
input and involvement. The director, of
course, has final say.
Creative decisions end up being made
in the edit suite for one simple reason: life
isn’t perfect. Footage, when cut together, is
not always exactly how you wanted it to be.
This is where the notion of editing as simply
cutting together shots from a script or
director’s notes, falls apart.
Although your goal is to be true to the
intent of the director, writer, and acting performances,
ultimately the edit is informed
by and derived from the reality of the footage.
The editor is, in a way, the first audience
member; he or she gets to see how
things really work—or don’t work. Fortunately,
the editor can usually do something
about it.
Visual Story Telling
Remember, you are creating motion
pictures. There’s a tendency to get hung up
on the script and see the visuals as simply
framing the dialogue. While you want to be
true to the intent of the script, being literal
with the visuals is usually incredibly dull.
You want to find shots that evoke the meaning
and emotion of what is being said in the
dialogue. Ideally, the pictures should still
tell the story, even with the sound off.
Now, it’s important to avoid the opposite
mistake too. Don’t pick shots just because
they look cool. That may not tell the
story either. Part of the creativity of editing
is finding ways to use the best shots to tell
the story. Not using the best shots or not
telling the story are both poor outcomes.
One of the most challenging parts of editing
is learning to see naively. You have to
develop an eye for how things appear to the
audience member who has never seen your
piece before and is learning as the story
goes along. You need a sense for what shots
really mean, how to put them together, and
what story they tell.
Problem Solving
Even in the best productions, some shots
and sequences end up being shaped by the
need to solve a problem. There’s an art to
being able to creatively edit around blown
lines, continuity errors, oversights, or mistakes.
You may need to edit dialogue during
cutaways or while a character’s back is
turned. You may need to seamlessly change
the order of shots or actions in a scene. You
may need to “steal” shots or even lines
from other parts of the piece to cover a hole
or make sense of something.
This can require a lot of consultation
with the director, and may require
some maturity on the part of the director
to choose between a mistake and a compromise.
There’s often no right or wrong
answer. The director may choose, for example,
to accept a continuity error in order
to retain a take with the best performance.
Don’t Obsess. Evolve.
Less experienced editors often spend a lot
of time obsessing over each shot they cut in
and each edit they make. In professional situations,
you’ll miss your deadline if you do
this, but it’s also counterproductive in general.
Yes, you should care about each shot and
each edit. The catch is, you won’t understand
a shot completely until you see it as part of its
sequence. And you won’t understand that sequence
completely until you see it as part of
its scene, and so on.
The answer to this is, typically, to do
a rough cut of each section, concentrating
on challenging or important parts of that
section, while trying to get a feel for the
whole before you concentrate too much on
details. That way you can go back and improve,
change, or completely delete parts
on a priority basis.
Pacing
Finally, something that’s often overlooked
by the less experienced editor is
pacing. Pacing is a vague and complex concept
that refers to the rhythm of shots and
action, of how things flow (or not) when
cut together, and the overall visual and auditory
punctuation of a piece. It’s about
shots coming together to make sequences,
sequences making scenes, scenes making a
film. Like listening to someone tell a story,
there are places where it should be fast and
frenetic, others where it should be slow and
fluid. There should be pauses. Breaks. And
a variety of long and short phrases.
On the shot-by-shot level, the important
thing is to get a feel for how the movement
of the edits and action adds to the audience’s
experience of the story. The editing
should reflect the energy and intent of the
scene. This is sometimes about the speed
and number of edits, but it’s also about
choosing close ups or wide shots, where
you cut in and out of actions, what and how
much you see of something.
If you cut to a character who is still and
then starts to move, this feels different than
cutting to somebody already in action. If
you stick with a shot after the end of an action,
or if you cut away quickly, this is different.
Do we see someone preparing to do
a thing, or do we just see them do it? Do
we see the action clearly, or just an impression
of it? All this alters the pace and feel of
how the scene plays.
There is no easy answer to what is right
and wrong with pacing. If something happens
slowly, is that boring, or is it suspenseful?
If it happens quickly, is it exciting or is
it confusing? These are the subjective and
creative parts of editing that you’ll need to
develop a feel for. A section that plays fine
on its own may be slow, boring, or even
redundant when viewed in its place in the
whole. Too many action scenes back to
back may tire the audience out. Some movies
fail for this reason: they are fine on a
scene by scene basis, but don’t hang together
over 90 minutes.
Real World Editing
So, all that being said, don’t be intimidated
by editing, but don’t expect it to be
obvious. Like a lot of aspects of filmmaking,
it is not some unattainable mystery, but
neither is it as simple as it seems. The basics
are very often more important than bell
and whistles, and oddly enough can take
longer to master. Be prepared to learn from
experience and be on the look out for new
and interesting things to try.
As you get more experience, the tricks
and nuances will become more apparent
to you. You’ll develop your own style and
way of working.
Editor’s Note: Craig Tollis is an Atlanta-based
freelance editor and filmmaker
with ten years of experience. Feel free to
ask Craig questions by e-mailing him at
craig@screenreport.com.§
www.screenreport.com March 2007 Page 5

Where the Shorts Are:
By Vallorie Wood
Short films are one way that up and
coming filmmakers get their work out to
the general public — possibly connecting
with financial backers who can take their
films to the next level. Shorts are easier to
produce for the first-time filmmaker (time
and budget-wise) and can be creatively
designed. Topics range from animation,
to comedy, to serious and intense subject
matter. Length of a short film varies anywhere
from one to 45 minutes.
Four new screening venues have recently
opened up for the southern short
filmmaker:
• Southern Shorts (Southern Arts Federation)
• C-47 (Georgia Public Broadcasting)
• Atlanta Shorts (PBA-30)
• Super Deluxe (Turner Broadcasting)
This article will describe each of these
new outlets.
Southern Shorts
“Southern Shorts” is a new component
of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent
Filmmakers, sponsored by the Southern
Arts Federation. Since 1975, Southern
Circuit has been touring independent fea-
ture films and filmmakers around the southeast
in “the only regional tour of independent
filmmakers.” This year, six short films
will also be selected to open for the feature
films on tour.
“The benefits of selection for this shorts
outlet is that this is a paid opportunity,”
said David Dombrosky, Program Director
for Contemporary Arts and New Initiatives
of the Southern Arts Federation. If selected,
short filmmakers receive $200, but
they don’t travel on the tour. The program
is open to filmmakers who live in Georgia,
Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Tennessee, or North or South
Carolina.
Dombrosky said, “We look for interesting,
intriguing things that make us question
our own beliefs, our previously held
notions, things that will change or shape
our world views—works that pull past the
pack.”
The Southern Shorts program accepts
films based on the merit of the work, rather
than the quality of the broadcast. “Sometimes,
it isn’t going to be as flashy, or have
the highest quality production values, but
it’s just that the story needs to be shared,
like Danielle Beverly’s Learning to Swallow,”
Dombrosky said. “That story had
such a punch to the gut.
So, we have to look at
the overall mastery of
the project. We like to
consider how form conveys
substance.”
C-47
Another short opportunity
can be found at
Georgia Public Broadcasting
(GPB-TV) in
the recently launched C-47
project. Joining forces with
the Georgia Film Commission,
Georgia State University’s Digital
Arts and Entertainment Lab
(DAEL), and Georgia’s Council
for the Arts, C-47 allows Georgia
filmmakers to screen their work and
learn more about the art of short filmmaking.
Project Associate and Producer
Kim Turner said, “We really are edutainment.
That’s what sets us apart.”
Four times a year, C-47 accepts submissions
from across the state and chooses one
film to be featured on the C-47 quarterly
program. The next showcase is March 20
at midnight on the GPB station, with this
quarter’s winner, filmmaker Ly Bolia and
his new film, Blame Fall.
“We’re now accepting submissions for
the Summer Showcase, with a deadline of
March 31,” emphasized Turner. “We also
are encouraging filmmakers to send in
something for the Autumn Showcase. That
deadline is June 30.”
There is no cost to submit a film, but
you are only allowed one entry per quarter.
Filmmakers are encouraged to submit
a different film each time. It doesn’t matter
when the film was produced, as long as
it has a Georgia connection. “It could be
something a filmmaker did 20 years ago,”
said Turner, “as long as the filmmaker is
from Georgia or at least part of the story
was filmed in Georgia.”
Topics can cover any subject matter and
genre. Keep in mind that public television
must adhere to certain rules of broadcast,
so material must be in good taste and needs
to avoid morbid, sensational, or exploitative
details.
Page 6 March 2007 www.screenreport.com

Where the Shorts Are
The panel of jurors has four criteria when reviewing films:
originality, technical proficiency, content, and style. Length of
films submitted to C-47 shouldn’t be longer than 25 minutes.
C-47 offers an online as well as a television venue. The
C-47 website, according to Turner, “is about to explode. It’s
going to be a base for filmmakers where they can come for
‘life lessons,’ you could call it. Things like how to do press
kits, how to really know your audience, real advice from people
in the business…hopefully to create a camaraderie in the
film industry.” The website, www.cforty7.com, plans to offer
tutorials, words from professionals like entertainment lawyers,
current interviews with celebrities, and a new section streaming
the C-47 films.
Atlanta Shorts
Down the dial is another public access channel offering filmmakers
in Atlanta a chance to showcase their work. PBA-30’s
newly televised program, “Atlanta Shorts,” airs Saturdays at 10
p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. According to Director of Television
and Executive Producer Dustin Lecate, “There wasn’t a venue for
filmmakers around here
For more information, visit
these websites:
Southern Arts Federation:
www.southarts.org
Atlanta Shorts (PBA-30):
www.pba.org/programming/
programs/atlshorts
C-47 project (GPB-TV):
www.cforty7.com
Super Deluxe (TBS):
www.superdeluxe.com
to get their work out
there. This show was
started for that very reason
— for filmmakers
who otherwise might
not have outlets.”
Lecate attributes
the initial success of
the show to his producer.
“Pat Clark immediately
got the ball
rolling by introducing
the program to
schools, other film organizations,
film festival
folks, and IMAGE
to spread the word that
the call was out for
short films by Atlanta
filmmakers.”
Hosted by Atlanta
actress and singer,
Debra McDavid, Atlanta
Shorts features
new short films each
week. On the first show was Watch and Learn, starring Leslie
Jordan of Will and Grace. Later shows have included student
films like Carboy: The Five-Seater with a Heart of Gold from
Black Hand Productions.
Lecate said, “We’re pretty open to material. We don’t have
particulars in mind, nor do we say we’re not going to show this
or that. All we ask is that it is broadcast quality.” Again, public
television must follow certain guidelines. For that reason, submissions
to PBA must not contain excessive violence, foul language,
or nudity.
“Length is kept to ten minutes, allowing us maybe four per
show,” said Lecate. The goal, he added, is ultimately to expand
the program’s length to a full hour and include exclusive interviews
with the filmmakers. “Give them a chance to explain their
film, or talk more about it—something many filmmakers do not
have the opportunity to do. But that’s the chance Atlanta Shorts
wants to give this community,” he added.
Super Deluxe
On the Broadband Network, Turner Broadcasting has a new
venue that is strictly comedy. “Super Deluxe” presents exclusive,
original comedy videos. Since going live in mid-January 2007,
Super Deluxe has quickly attracted established, and up and coming
comedians.
“It’s a little edgy,” said Senior Director of Public Relations for
Super Deluxe Gina McKenzie, “but it’s ‘pursuit and discovery.’
Our viewers don’t want to be told something’s funny.”
Registration on SuperDeluxe.com is free, and users can immediately
upload their videos and trade works with others. Artists
receive a personalized spot, which includes exclusive content and
opportunities to promote appearances, projects, or just to further
customize the experience. Eventually, Super Deluxe plans to expand
to other formats such as mobile phones and personal media
players.
“It’s really exciting,” said Drew Reifenberger, Senior Vice
President and General Manager of Super Deluxe. “Now that the
network has launched and people can experience it first-hand, artists
and fans are already interacting beyond our expectations, and
we have so much more in store for them.”
The broadband network creates a social environment, which
encourages discussion among filmmakers and fans. “We’ve premiered
many original series and have many more ready for debut,
ensuring Super Deluxe will continue to be fresh and unpredictable,”
Reifenberger said. §
www.screenreport.com March 2007 Page 7

AFF
Continued from Page 1
“I just can’t fathom doing a festival
without (our) target audience around,”
Wardell says.
Another perk is avoiding competition
with the blockbusters that are generally released
in the summer, which makes it easier
to consolidate the festival in one venue.
In the past, IMAGE couldn’t get enough
screenings in one place to make a single
location work, which led to adventurous
filmgoers rushing around the city.
Aside from the opening night extravaganza
on April 19 at Atlantic Station’s
Regal Cinema, the entire festival will be
held at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema at
931 Monroe Drive.
“Our centralized location is going to be
an adventure – but in a good way,” Wardell
says. “We hope it inspires people to see
more features.”
Festival
director Dan
Krovich, who
arrived in October,
agrees that
settling in one
location is necessary
to push
the event forward.
“Having one
central hub should
help enhance the
‘festival feel’ instead
of it seeming
like a bunch of
Atlanta Film Festival
Director, Dan Krovich
film screenings around town,” says Krovich.
“There’s a lot to do in the area of the
theater, and with a one-stop destination,
people can come to the festival and see
several movies, get something to eat and
just hang out instead of driving from one
venue to another and having to find parking.
It should allow for more opportunity
for conversations about the films and a general
coming together of film fans.”
With several dining options within
walking distance of Landmark, Wardell expects
the centralized location will be a welcomed
feature.
“This festival environment is something
new to Atlanta,” he says. “It will make a
world of difference for audiences.”
The audience is a key factor in helping
the Atlanta Film Festival gain a reputation
like the well-known festivals in San Francisco,
Cleveland, and Seattle, according to
Krovich.
“Those festivals have a world-class profile
because they show world-class films,
and the world-class films want to screen at
those festivals because they provide great
audiences for their work,” he explains.
“Given the
size and scale of
the city, coupled
with the growth
of the industry
within the region,
I’ve often
wondered why
the Atlanta Film
Festival doesn’t
have the kind
of national profile
of a South
by Southwest or
strong city-wide
festivals like San
Francisco, Cleveland or Seattle,” Wardell
admits.
Wardell says he believes the Atlanta
Film Festival possesses a strong reputation
already, “but we need to better define what
makes this festival unique.”
“We’ve been around for 30 years,”
he adds. “Only a handful of festivals in
this country have this type of reputation
to fall back on. We’ve got an active
filmmaking community, exceptional
corporate partners, solid arts funding
and an expanding audience eager to
support independent film and international
cinema.”
However, gaining a prominent national
profile, he says, all depends on press coverage
and word of mouth
from visiting industry
guests, jurors, and filmmakers,
“who will serve
as our ambassadors to
the world.”
Locals also play a
role in building the festival’s
reputation. Wardell
urges Atlantans to showcase
their Southern hospitality
for the event’s
out-of-town guests.
Gestures such as this, he
“Given the size and scale of the
city, coupled with the growth of
the industry within the region, I’ve
often wondered why the Atlanta
Film Festival doesn’t have the kind
of national profile of a South by
Southwest or strong city-wide festivals
like San Francisco, Cleveland
or Seattle,” Wardell admits.
says, go a long way towards establishing a
festival’s legitimacy.
Another factor in Atlanta’s success is
the burgeoning film industry within the
city.
Although Krovich has only been in
town for a few months, he says, “I’ve
already seen that there is a great film
community in Atlanta. There is a lot of
filmmaking at all levels of budget and experience
and a strong audience for independent
film.”
Tyler Perry Studios has added clout to
the city’s standing in the film industry, as
well as the horror flick The Signal. Filmed
in Atlanta with hordes of local actors, The
Signal sold for more than $2 million at
this year’s Sundance
Festival,
along with rave
reviews.
It’s Atlanta’s
blossoming film
industry that’s
partly responsible
for tempting
Wardell back
to the city and to
IMAGE, where
he once served as
festival director
in 1997.
“The idea of
coming back to Atlanta after nine years was
attractive to me,” says Wardell, who moved
to his native state of Maryland to work
with its film festival. “I always respected
IMAGE and continued to keep an eye on
Atlanta over the years. I think Atlanta is a
fantastic market.”
Krovich also found Atlanta and its festival
appealing.
“I had been at the Maryland Film Festival
for six years and was happy there, but
when the opportunity came up to be part of
IMAGE, it felt like a good next step for me
to take,” he says. “What intrigued me most
was that there was a good foundation in
place, but also the opportunity for change
and growth.” §
Page 8 March 2007 www.screenreport.com

Getting into College: The Movie!
An “edutainment” Magnum Opus
By Melissa Randle
The goal of a filmmaker is to tell a story
or convey a message that will affect the
viewer. In an “edutainment” film, the challenge
becomes conveying an important social
message in a fun and engaging fashion
(think documentary with a narrative film
style). While the term dates back to the
90s, the genre was conceptualized in the
late 60s with the introduction of a “mildly”
successful children’s program that blended
learning with fun called Sesame Street.
Since that time, many television and
video programs have been birthed with the
pee-wee audience in mind, but few strides
have been made to target a more mature audience.
Getting Into College: The Movie!
produced by Cheveyo Entertainment seeks
to fill that void. This feature-length film is
a highly anticipated addition to the edutainment
genre with an intended demographic
of teenaged to young adult viewers.
(I confess to being unabashedly prejudiced
regarding this project, having served
as the film’s script supervisor. That being
fully disclosed, let me tell you about this
project that recently wrapped here in Atlanta
and is currently in post-production in
Los Angeles.)
Getting Into College undertakes the
challenge of accurately delivering highly
technical information and infusing it with
beguilement. Think Ferris Bueller (Van
Wilder, for you Gen-Y folks) meets a college
board PSA. The film was shot in 24p
on a Panasonic SDX 900 (giving it a visually
rich, film-like appearance without the
expense) over a two-week period at a private
school in Atlanta recently. Producers
expect to distribute Getting into College on
DVD to colleges and prospective students.
Fresh out of the University of Southern
California film school, grads Kathryn
Beane (director/co-writer), Kelley Alexander
(producer), and Joe Shine (co-writer/
production designer) conceived the film’s
premise and formed the production company,
Cheveyo Entertainment. (Beane has
Atlanta roots; her parents still live here.)
Collectively, the USC trio sought to examine
the trials and tribulations of typical
high school students contemplating the
next stage in their educational career. They
wanted to use the type of humor achieved
in the aforementioned cult classics. The
co-writers worked together to effectively
balance the edutainment elements: Beane
(L - R) Erica Crabb-Moon (AD), Kathryn Beane (Director/Co-Writer), Kelley Alexander
(Producer), Melissa Randle (Script Supervisor) & Kathleen Kelly (DP)
focused on ensuring the accurate communication
of technical information while Shine
infused the comedic elements needed to
keep the film moving and prevent it from
becoming just a lackluster PSA.
I was immediately drawn to this film
after hearing about it and envisioning the
positive impact such a project would have
on its intended audience. Equally appealing
was the number of women in key positions
such as director, director of photography,
producer, and assistant director. (With the
exception of “The Women’s Angle Project,”
it’s rare to get to work on such a female-helmed
production.)
Getting into College is the type of worthy
filmmaking that appeals to me on so
many levels. The film’s
prospectus reads like
the mission statement of
“Project: YOUTH” (an
organization some classmates
and I started in
college). Both are set on
empowering youth with
their future goals and
plans for higher education
by sharing information
not readily available
or palatable in its often
technical delivery. Getting
into College addresses
an ongoing need
Justice Leak
to reinforce this information, and reminds
us that we must utilize inventive methods
In the Spotlight
and media to captivate Generation-Y audiences.
The film boasts a wealth of talented
Atlanta-based actors. Leading the pack
is local actor and rising star, Justice Leak
(who, among other things, recently did a
stint as Matthew McConaughey’s standin
in We are Marshall). Leak gives a noteworthy
performance in the role of the film’s
protagonist, Ryan, who lends his sage advice
to his peers and guides them through
the angst of college admissions, all the
while engaging the viewer by breaking the
film’s fourth wall.
The film’s tag line is “The Intelligent
and Informative Without Being Brutally
Boring Guide To Getting In.” Once completed,
Getting into College will
be a tool that resourceful parents,
self-motivated students, guidance
counselors, and educational
institutions should embrace to
encourage and empower students
considering pursuing higher education.
With a bevy of easily relatable
and colorful characters
represented — from the financially
challenged student, to the
over-achiever, and even the C-
average student — everyone will
find reassurance that, despite
their circumstances, they still
have options.
For more information, see http://www.
gettingintocollegethemovie.org.
www.screenreport.com March 2007 Page 9

the great
mazursky
By Pamela Cole
His career spans five decades in the cutthroat world of show
business as an actor, writer, director, and producer. With five
Oscar nominations, 13 industry awards, 64 film and television
appearances in shows like The Sopranos and Curb your Enthusiasm,
and 18 movies to his directorial credit, you’d think ‘Paul
Mazursky’ would be a household name.
“My name is Paul Mazursky and I’m a famous movie director,”
he says to a Jewish pilgrim in Uman, Ukraine, the sight of
Mazurky’s first documentary film, Yippee: A Journey to Jewish
Joy. “Did you ever see Down and Out in Beverly Hills?” he
asks.
“No,” replies the bearded pilgrim not unkindly, who can be
forgiven. He lives on the other side of the world in the Ukraine.
But even here in America, Mazursky (the man who wrote the
pilot episode of The Monkees, the television cult phenom of the
late 60s), is not a household name.
The Brooklyn-born Mazursky was in Atlanta recently to attend
the East coast premiere of Yippee: A Journey to Jewish Joy
at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. I interviewed him at his Midtown
Atlanta hotel.
How did you get started in film?
I was still in college. I had been in an off-broadway play in
New York called “He Who Gets Slapped.” It was really off, off
Broadway up on Riverside and 130th somewhere. Another guy
and I put up $100 each and he directed it and I acted in it. I was an
actor, studying speech therapy and English Literature at Brooklyn
College. So a guy saw the play and called me, and said “My name
is Howard Sackler and I’ve written a script and I think you’d be
right for the part. Would you like to read for the play?” So I said
sure and he got me the director’s address, and I went and met this
guy. He was a couple of years older than me and his name was
Stanley Kubrick and he had never made a film. So I got the part
in the film, called Fear and Desire [1953].
I always wanted to be an actor, but that part with
Stanley really validated me. Most people who want to
be actors never get a break like that when they’re 20
years old. Stanley never liked the movie much and it’s
sort of sophomoric, but I had a huge part and I thought
I’d win the Oscar — boy, was I wrong.
From 1954-1959, I did a comedy act with another
guy and continued to act in television and theater. Then
I got married to Betsy (who I’m still married to) and
we had a little girl, Jill. Work was starting to shrink
in New York, so I got several West Coast bookings as
a comedian. So now, I’m a comedian in LA and I replaced
Alan Arkin in the original Second City comedy
group. Someone who had directed me in television
saw my Second City act in LA and said, “You know,
we’re just starting the Danny Kaye Variety Show…do
you want to write for it?”
It was a big decision and I did it. I had fooled
around with writing before, writing my comedy act,
but I wasn’t really a writer. But I had to make money
— I had a baby. So I did the Danny Kaye show for
four years, still acting a little bit. I learned to be a really
disciplined writer and then I started to write movie
scripts, and I wrote I Love you Alice B Toklas. I became the executive
producer and we made it with Peter Sellers. I really saw
about how to make a movie. Even though I had acted in movies,
it’s different being there for the editing and the casting and everything.
The next script, which I wrote with Larry Tucker, my writing
partner, was Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. And I said, “I
won’t sell it unless I direct it,” and that started the directing. That
was in 1969. Everything after that, I wrote and directed.
How would you describe a Paul Mazursky film?
I’ve made a lot of movies and they’re as different as they can
be from each other. But they’re generally about what I like to
call “Human Beings” with a capital H and a capital B. Most Hollywood
movies are about human beings I don’t know, and I’ve
always celebrated the middle class. My films have humor and, a
very dangerous word in Hollywood — irony. That’s a very dangerous
word because when you say that something is ironic, they
generally ask, “Who’s gonna get it? Who’s gonna understand it?”
Kids don’t want irony.
The 70s and 80s were a great time for a director (in Hollywood),
for this director anyway. I’d write a script and they’d say,
let’s do it! It’s not like that now. It’s corporate. It’s much tougher.
You’re rarely having a one on one with someone who can say
yes. It’s different now. They want kids, because that’s who goes
to the movies.
But you helped start The Monkees?
I wrote the pilot. Two guys who had been involved with Easy
Rider heard that Larry Tucker and I were the hot new funny guys.
We were writing for Danny Kaye. So they called us in and said,
“Hey we wanna do a show like the Beatles, but in LA.” So we
wrote this half-hour pilot called The Monkees, and I think we destroyed
television as it was, and are responsible for MTV and fast
cuts, which were just a device that worked for that show.
What advice do you give young filmmakers?
I just gave a lecture at the American Film Institute to about 80
young filmmakers. Very few of them had seen my movies. And
they’re all on DVD. I tell young filmmakers the following: don’t
do this unless you’re obsessed and prepared for massive rejection.
Just don’t do it. Don’t think, “I’m going to be a big star and
I’m going to be rich.” That’s the wrong reason to be doing it. Do
it because you’re possessed with the need to try to say something
Page 10 March 2007 www.screenreport.com

about life. And then I tell them, there are no rules. That’s all I can
say. There are no rules. Every rule I’ve ever heard is meant to be
broken.
Right now, everybody, including my 5-and-a-half-year-old
grandson, can make a movie with this [picks up his cell phone].
It’s not the same. All great movies, they come from some deep
place and some overpowering need to share beauty and wisdom
and all of that. I don’t know if you can do that with this technology
[points to cell phone].
Did you study film?
The only film I studied was my experience as an actor, which
was invaluable. I took some acting classes in New York, and Lee
J. Cobb came and talked to our class one day about Method acting.
He said that the Method is like aspirin: you only use it when
you have a headache. When I was writing for Danny Kaye, I did
study film editing for a year at USC and that was very helpful.
When I direct, I don’t tell actors their intention or their motivation—I
don’t say anything unless I have to. And then I’m pretty
good because I know more about acting than most directors.
What are you working on now?
I just want the opportunity to keep making my movies, but
as I get older, it’s very difficult. Ageism is out there. It’s very
tough. Yippee’s my 18th movie. That’s a lot of movies. I have
some scripts now that are just as good as Bob and Carol and Ted
and Alice. I can’t get them made.
Yippee was my first documentary. It was fabulous. I paid for
it myself. No bosses, no studio, you never know what’s going to
happen. It’s exciting. I’ll do another one, I don’t know when.
There’s a lot of theater in LA. I’m about to direct a play called
“Catskill Sonata” written by Michael Elias. I’m starting rehearsal
a week from tomorrow. I’m going back to my theater roots.§
Films directed by Paul
Mazursky:
Actors Fund Established
In memory of Robert
Paul Smith
By Ruksana Hussain
The New Year began with happiness for
most of us. Unfortunately, for young actor
Robert Paul Smith, his drive to an audition
in North Carolina on January 13th ended in
tragedy when a semi-tractor trailer hit his
car, killing him in the accident. While his
family and friends mourned his loss, close
friend and fellow actor Szymon Kraszczynski
knew exactly how he wanted to
celebrate the wonderful person that was
Robert.
He established the Robert Paul Smith
Actors Fund in Robert’s memory, to provide
deserving actors with financial assistance
and helpful resources that would be
stepping-stones in the study of their craft.
Details regarding the Fund and its plans,
(applying for scholarships, future activities,
etc.) will be available in March 2007
on the website www.rpsactorsfund.com.
The Fund has set specific criteria
to determine if an actor should receive
support. First, a candidate must prove a
need for financial assistance by submitting
documentation of his or her financial
status. Second, the candidate must have
already gained representation with a respected
agent or acting school of repute,
to be considered eligible.
Candidates are also required to give
back to the community through voluntary
work of their choosing. In fact, Szymon
envisions a “People Center,” as part of the
Fund, providing some sort of outreach program
where actors can help each other to
connect and network, sharing their stories
and experiences and learning from each
other, thereby assisting in achieving their
goals and finding success in their chosen
field.
“Our dream is to become a network
of actors worldwide,” says Szymon. He
stresses the value of networking for an
actor, something that Robert put much importance
on. The Fund is aimed at functioning
as a networking and resource hub,
providing vital information to teach participants
how to develop as an actor, be effective
as an entrepreneur, and find success in
life.
Yippee: A Journey to
Jewish Joy (2006)
Coast to Coast (2003) (TV)
Winchell (1998) (TV)
Faithful (1996)
The Pickle (1993)
Scenes from a Mall (1991)
Enemies: A Love Story (1989)
Moon Over Parador (1988)
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
Tempest (1982)
Willie and Phil (1980)
An Unmarried Woman (1978)
Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
Harry and Tonto (1974)
Blume in Love (1973)
Alex in Wonderland (1970)
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
To donate to the Robert Paul Smith
Actors fund, please make a deposit at any
Bank of America branch and send Szymon
the details of your deposit. Upcoming
plans include a possible fund-raising gala
to commemorate the Actors Fund and regular
newsletters on the activities scheduled
for the future.
For more information, e-mail Szymon
at info@rpsactorsfund.org. §
www.screenreport.com March 2007 Page 11

Thompson
Continued from Page 1
Why would filmmakers come to your
office?
Filmmakers come to us for two initial
important reasons: 1) To take advantage
of the tax incentive, and the sales tax and
use exemption, which we administer for
the state with the Department of Revenue.
Folks that qualify, meaning that they are
going to spend $500,000 or more in a single
calendar year, come in and tell us about
their project and we qualify
their project; and 2) folks
come to us for access to location
information.
About those incentives…
didn’t South Carolina just
upgrade it’s incentive package?
Yes, I think there are over
30 states that now have incentive
plans. So, like all
businesses it’s gotten very
competitive. We believe that
our incentive plan (of course
we were one of the first to develop
one) is sustainable over
time. We’re not trying to be
the cheapest — we want to be
the best, and we want to offer
a balanced plan that takes into
account all of our other resources,
which not many other
states can compete with.
What type of resources?
First of all, Georgia is the
largest state east of the Mississippi
and has one of the largest
economies. Also, very few
states can boast mountains,
beaches, rural areas, huge metropolitan
areas, small towns,
forests, rivers, and lakes…it’s
quite a diversity of locations.
Someone could come to Georgia
and literally find just about any location
that they would need.
Are there plans for a new Georgia incentive
package?
The incentive bill was passed in April
2005, retroactive to Jan. 1 2005, so we’ve
been using it now for two years. Like any
new product, there are always things you
learn you could improve after you start
using it.
I think that at some point in the future,
possibly next legislative session, there are
going to be some folks who want to raise
up some tweaks to the existing plan. We
don’t need to create a new bill, but we
might want to modify some of the particulars
of the existing bill.
Do those plans come from your office?
We can’t really get involved in that directly.
That would normally come from either
the Georgia Production Partnership or
Edge. Those are the two groups in this industry
that would lobby for those changes.
We can say that we agree with that initiative,
but we can’t be the ones who start it.
How many productions took advantage
of the 2005 incentives?
For 2005, 85 projects applied for an entertainment
industry tax credit certification.
For 2006, 73 projects have applied so far,
Put your dreams in motion.
Georgia Film, Video & Music
Department of Economic Development
404.962.4052
and there are still companies applying for
certification for the 2006 tax year. The fiscal
year varies for some companies and is
not always a standard calendar year, so it
can be as late as August of the following
year before all tax credit applications for
the prior year are certified.
To qualify for the incentive plan, an individual
company can use multiple projects
in the same year to get to that minimum
level. Companies that do that are music
video producers or commercial production
folks. The plan allows for them to string together
multiple projects in a single year and
qualify for the tax credit.
Our incentive bill was designed to foster
more production. We didn’t want to penalize
somebody because they could never
get to that $500,000 level on one project.
Georgia wanted to give people the true incentive
to do as much work as possible.
Do you find any resistance to the film
industry in Georgia?
Georgia’s been at this for 35 years. Most
people in Georgia have been exposed to the
film industry for a long time. In the last 35
years there’s been approximately 550 movies,
TV series, and movies of the week shot
in Georgia. And lately, of course, a lot of independent
films like The Signal and others
were produced here. So there’s a lot of activity
and there has been for a long
time. Most people are really excited,
especially the smaller communities.
When a project comes
into town, they go nuts! They
love it! That’s good for everybody
I think.
What kind of economic impact
does the film industry
have on Georgia?
The incentive plan has really
helped us track projects and
revenue better. 291 different productions
ran through our office
last year (see sidebar for breakdown).
Obviously, there are a
lot of smaller things that happen
that we aren’t able to track. We
use a Federal Reserve-type multiplier,
where we take the actual
film budget and divide it by a
number to get to the number we
are interested in, which is called
the economic impact. It’s a fairly
conservative estimate. We believe
that film and television production
dollars spent in the state
roll over a significant number of
times, possibly more than seven
times.
The people who come to
Georgia to produce films are
experienced, worldly people
and generally they spend their
money a little more freely than the average
citizen. People don’t realize it, but a feature
film can spend as much as $200,000 a
day in the state. They aren’t all that way of
course, but the big ones can easily have that
kind of impact. They’re eating at good restaurants,
they’re buying gas, they’re buying
lumber, they’re getting haircuts, using
the dry cleaners — there’s a lot of impact
that people don’t really think about.
Are there any big projects coming to
Georgia soon?
There are a lot! We can’t talk about all
of them. We do believe that Robert Redford
and Paul Newman will bring a project
to our state briefly this year. It’s a project
Continued on Next Page
Page 12 March 2007 www.screenreport.com

ased on the book, “A Walk in the Woods,”
by Bill Bryson. It’s about two older guys
played by Redford and Newman who set
off to hike the Appalachian Trail.
There’s a TV pilot that looks like it’s going
to shoot in Savannah soon. National Open
House, produced by HGTV is looking for
homeowners in Atlanta. And of course, Extreme
Home Makeovers was just up in Cherokee
County shooting another episode. MTV
is shooting 21 episodes of a show called Yo
Mama at the Pullman Yards through the first
days of April. There are at least a dozen other
projects that we think are going to happen
soon, it’s just a matter of when.
And, of course, Tyler Perry is very well
established now. He does two television
series and two movies a year, which is a
great baseline for us. If you go see his latest
movie, Daddy’s Little Girls, it’s great
to see so many Georgians in the credits as
crew again.
Many of the major music stars in town
want to do more feature films, like Dallas
Austin who did ATL and Drumline. And
we’re all excited about whatever Robert
Townsend wants to do. §
2006 Georgia
film/video projects*:
6 feature films
15 independent films
56 television episodes
(pilots and series)
165 commercials
46 music videos
3 video game projects
* represents only the projects tracked by
the Georgia Film, Video & Music Division
(www.filmgeorgia.org)
Short Ends:
• Tyler Perry has two new movies
slated for production – Why did I
get Married? and Jazz Man’s Blue.
He is also set to shoot two television
series in Atlanta over the next two
years. Welcome to PerryLand. Daddy’s
Little Girls, filmed in Atlanta
with a mostly Atlanta crew, opened
nationally on Valentine’s Day.
• Director Terry Collis is shooting
three indie films with increasingly
higher budgets in Georgia in 2007.
Mrs. Hobbes’ House began shooting
in Jackson in early March.
• Shay Griffin and Day Permuy are
producing a feature film, The Conjurer,
shooting in Carrollton, Georgia
in mid-March.
• The Miami International Film Festival
kicked off March 2. Watch for
extensive coverage on our website.
• The Women’s Angle is up to 12
participating woman directors. Their
films, based on feminist film theorist
Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure
and Narrative
Cinema,” will be
publicly screened
at Sketchwork
Theatre on June
1-3, 2007. See
www.myspace.
com/the_womens_angle
for
more info.
• The Dailies
Project is wrapping
up its PSA
Project, which
challenged filmmakers
to work with an organization
to create and donate a public service
announcement, 30-60 seconds long.
(Sounds like a good Southern Screen
Report trailer!) Screenings are set to
take place April 6-7 and April 13-14.
See www.dailiesatlanta.org for more
info.
• Rapid “i” Movement filmmaking
weekend was March 16-18, 2007. 50
teams spent 50 hours making a film.
Sponsored by IMAGE. Completed
films will screen at the Plaza Theatre
and winning films will be included in
the 2007 Atlanta Film Festival.
• Kristen McGary and Bonnie Woods
are the new 2007 Co-Presidents of
Women in Film and Television, Atlanta
(that’s WIFTA, now).
• Lesley Harris of Pogo Pictures is
the new president of Association of
Independent Commercial Producers
(AICP). Congrats Lesley!
Got news? Send it to
news@screenreport.com.
That’s what we’re here for!
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www.screenreport.com March 2007 Page 13

Getting Distribution:
5 Secrets & Lies
By Jerome Courshon
One of the major Achilles’ heels for producers and directors
is the distribution game. Once you’ve made your movie, what do
you do? How do you play the game? What strategies do you employ?
Is there even a strategy? Well, there’s good news and bad
news. The good news is there are indeed strategies to use and
employ. The bad news is that most filmmakers don’t know what
they are and flounder around trying to figure them out. I know. I
was there myself.
It took me several years to find distribution for my movie,
God, Sex & Apple Pie. I floundered, I struggled, I learned. I
eventually did get distribution through Warner Bros. amazingly
enough. But what I learned was how to do it, and I’ve been assisting
other filmmakers in successfully getting distribution for their
movies. (No, I’m not a producer’s rep. I have no interest in taking
a piece of your movie.)
In this article, I’m going to share a few secrets and debunk
some prevalent lies (which we’ll call “myths”) about getting distribution.
Myth #1: I’m a director, a filmmaker, a creative person. If I
make a good movie, I don’t have to worry about the business or
marketing stuff because someone else will do that.
Secret #1: This is not so much a secret as a reality check.
There are some people who get lucky and either have a producing
partner who does the business and marketing, or they have
the money to hire the right people to do everything. However,
for most this isn’t the case, especially if one’s movie career is in
the early stages. You really need to become a businessman (or
businesswoman) once your feature film is done. At least until it’s
sold. The more you can become a “salesperson” and marketing
maven, the more success you will have in your quest for distribution.
Yes, I know this part isn’t nearly as sexy and fun as making
movies, but as Orson Welles famously said about the film business:
“It’s about 2% movie making and 98% hustling.”
Myth #2: Distributors are calling me and they’re excited to see
my movie! I’ll send it to them and if they like it, they’ll buy it!
Secret #2: All major distributors track the movies that have
been listed in the trades under their production columns. If you
were in those columns, you’re going to be phoned. Do not send
them a rough cut. Do not send them a final cut. Do not send them
the movie. If you do, you will not get a theatrical distribution
deal, if this is what you are going for. You must “unveil” your
movie in the right place at the right time, such as a top film festival,
to get the buyers to really want your feature. Movies that
have been sent on DVD to a distributor do not get picked up for
theatrical releases. So when they call, say, “It’s not ready, but I
appreciate your call.” Repeatedly.
Myth #3: My movie was selected for the Sundance Film
Festival (or Toronto or Cannes). Woohooo! All I have to do is
show up and I will get a deal!
Secret #3: Okay, you won the lottery and got a slot at one
of these three coveted festivals for your movie premiere. Guess
what? Your work hasn’t even begun yet. You must now assemble
a team of people—a PR firm, an agent from one of the top agencies
in Los Angeles, an attorney, and possibly a producer’s rep.
(But beware…most producer’s reps are useless.) You will have to
work, strategize and position your movie—before it premieres—
as a very desirable movie that distributors must have. You have
one shot at the top festivals for a theatrical deal, so don’t screw
up. Unfortunately, most filmmakers don’t know or understand
this. Their movie plays at Sundance, they come away without a
deal, and they don’t know what to do next.
Myth #4: I was rejected by the top festivals, so now I’m
submitting and getting accepted by the next tier of festivals. This
is cool. All I have to do is show up at my screenings and be treated
like a rock star!
Secret #4: Yeah, okay, if this is you, at least you’re having
fun. But you’re not going to get distribution this way. There is a
real purpose to the festival circuit beyond the top festivals. The
obvious purpose is, of course, exposure. But there is actually a
MORE important purpose: Building a pedigree. What is a pedigree?
It’s press coverage, positive quotes from critics, awards if
you can get them—that says you have a hell of a winning movie
on your hands. Once you have built this pedigree, then you are
ready to parlay this into a distribution deal.
Myth #5: I’ve submitted my movie to the 15 home video
companies. I’ve talked to my producer friends and looked at industry
reference books. I’ve even perused the video store shelves
to see who all the home video companies are. If they all say “No,”
I’m out of luck for a home video deal.
Secret #5: This “secret” right here may be worth tens or hundreds
of thousands of dollars to you. I didn’t know this when I
was going through my journey, and most people don’t. There are
literally over 75 home video companies in the marketplace, all
operating under their own labels. On top of that are additional
companies that pick up movies and programming that have output
deals with these distributors. So if you think you’ve exhausted
your search for a home video deal and you’ve only contacted 15
or even 25 companies, you’ve only just begun.
With over 4000 movies being made every single year, that’s
quite a few producers and directors working with often erroneous
information. And 4000+ are a lot of movies vying for limited distribution
slots. These two factors combined can make for a daunting
journey filled with frustration and failure.
The silver lining to all this? There are eight basic paths (or
distribution models) a movie can take to get into the distribution
stream, and if you know what to do and employ the right strategies,
you can achieve real distribution. You do not need name
stars in your movie to get a deal and your movie does not have to
be phenomenal. If your movie is at least decent—or good—you
do have a real shot.
Jerome Courshon is an award-winning producer/writer. He
has written articles for MovieMaker Magazine, Indie Slate Magazine,
and Film Festival Today. For more information, visit: www.
distribution.LA. (Photo courtesy of Jerome Courshon)§
Page 14 March 2007 www.screenreport.com

In Production
THE AIDS CHRONICLES - HERE TO
REPRESENT. bbarash productions,
LLC. Bailey Barash, 404-373-8246, 1875
McLendon Ave., NE, Atlanta, GA 30307.
bbarash1@cs.com. Post-Production. Documentary.
Mid (30-60 min). Start Date:
March 2003. Location: Atlanta. Synopsis:
The AIDS Chronicles is about the social and
cultural impact of HIV/AIDS on the African
American population of Atlanta. Through
the lives of real people of all educational
and economic backgrounds, all sexual orientations
and ages. The facts are revealed,
the myths dispelled.
203 DAYS. bbarash productions, LLC.
Bailey Barash, 404-373-8246, 1875 McLendon
Ave., NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, bbarash.
com. bbarash1@cs.com. Post-Production.
Documentary.Short (60 min). Start
Date: April 2, 2007. Location: Atlanta and
surrounding area. Cast: Russ Comegys,
Daniel Roebuck, Anne W. Griffin, Courtney
Hogan. Synopsis: In a small Georgia
town, Chase inherits the family farm. Deep
in debt, he turns to cooking crystal meth on
the property in an effort to save it from foreclosure.
When Bobby, the sheriff, finds out
he steals the drugs. Locked in a struggle
between saving the farm and saving his
own life, Chase hurtles toward a confrontation
with the man who twenty-eight years
ago killed his father - and last week stole
his girlfriend.
THE PROMISE. Kiss the Limit Productions,
in association with Visionary Films,
Shandra L. McDonald, Nancy B. Howard,
1659 Jackson Square, Atlanta, GA
30318, (404) 201-0161, (404) 799-8115.
visionaryfilms@yahoo.com. Pre-Production.
Drama. Short (60
min). Start Date: March 27, 2007. Location:
Atlanta, GA (Rabun County). Synopsis: Two
couples head into a luxurious hunting lodge
deep in the remote Georgia woods. When
they finally arrive, escaped convicts from
a nearby military prison have been using
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identities, everything about who they are
is classified and they’re as deadly as that
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The couples escape during a lucky moment,
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Christine, our hero, decides to fight
back.
RED & GREEN. Grey Bros. Kirt Blackwood,
305-788-3096. greybrosprod@gmail.com.
Pre-Production. Drama. Short (60
min). Start Date: 11/29/06 - 12/10/06. Location:
Metro-Atlanta. Cast: Justice Leak,
Mark Lynch, Linda Kang, Ashley Campbell,
Dane Davenport, Kesan Moore, Elizabeth
Keener, Neal Hazzard, James Sutton. Synopsis:
An edutainment DVD that will assist
high school students in selecting appropriate
colleges and successfully navigating
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HAPPY HOUR LAST CALL. Don Creates,
Inc. Doncreates@aol.com. Post-Production.
Comedy. Feature (>60 min). Start Date:
11/06 - 1/06. Location: Metro-Atlanta, Union
City. Cast: Miko Defoor, Kanya Maree,
Shaun Mixon, Prieska Outland. Synopsis:
A fast-paced romantic comedy about childhood
buddies Donald and Dre who love
hanging out, womanizing, drinking, and
clubbing. By chance, Donald encounters
Karen, his long time high school crush for
a second chance at the only girl that got
way. After a string of disasters, Donald is
forced to choose between his friends and
the woman of his dreams.
WIND & FIRE: THE ANIMATED TV SERIES.
Silver*Ware Productions. Travis Ware - President/CEO,
1688 Cobbs Creek Lane, Decatur,
GA 30032. swpi@zoomshare.com. Pre-Production.
Animation. Mid (30-60 min). Start
Date: March 2007. Cast: Fred Russell, Will
Redmond, Rebecca Haile. Synopsis: His
sight was taken away when he was just a
“rookie cop” for the NYPD. Now it’s the year
2007 and Travis Wane is now one of the New
York City Police best “Homicide Detectives”
cleaning up the dirty streets of Manhattan,
NY. He is armed only with a straight sword
concealed in a pearl “Cobra Headed” cane.§
www.screenreport.com March 2007 Page 15

Classifieds
Actors
Haji Abdullah.
Actor, voice-over
artist. 404-788-
4834 or E-mail
haji400@yahoo.
com.
http://www.
myspace.com/
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Rafiq Batcha.
Accomplished
actor guaranteed
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nuanced characterizations
and
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mail: rafiq.batcha@gmail.com. Phone:
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Homer A. Duke, IV.
Talented and motivated
actor with
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Will travel. Headshot
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Hazzard.
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cdhazz@yahoo.com
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Springer.
Actress/singer/
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experienced in
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404-227-7855 or
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Employment
Advertising Executive. Southern
Screen Report seeks part-time advertising
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Experience preferred. Send resume to
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Services
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An entertainment, consulting and
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Page 16 March 2007 www.screenreport.com